Automatic meter control.



l D. R. YARNALL. Aurommc METER CONTROL.

APPLICATIDH HLED HOV- 8, 1912. 1,143,344@ Patented Jun@ 15, 1915.

muil Il! wlllhhmmmll l |1| IN VE N TOR A TTORNE Y DAVID ROBERT YARNALL, 0F PHILADELPEA, PENNSYLVANA, .ASSIGNOE T0 YARNALL-WARING COMPANY, OF EILDELEHI, PENNSYLVANXA, COB- POBATION' OF PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC METER CONTROL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

retenir-ed .time is. isis.

Original application filed April 1, 1912, Serial No. 687,630. Dvied and this application led November 8.

i y 1912. Serial No. 736,124. i

T0 au whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID ROBERT Yen- NALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at 316 Preston street, Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have inventeda certa-in 'new and useful Automatic Meter Control, of which.

the following is a speciiication.

The purpose of my invention -is to conserve space and improve the construction in fluid meters, particularly of the Weir K conditions or not.

A further purpose of my invention is to so shape the. float as to automaticaily cerrect for variation in temperature Huid metered by relatively reducing the yoiunie of ioat additionally submerged at one teinpexature and not submerged at another to offset the increase of volume of the constantly submerged part of the float and the inl creased length of the rest of the iioat..

A further purpose of my invention is to provide adjustment for the rate of compensation for fluid temperature Variation.

A further purpose of my invention is to accommodate part of the storage of Water which has passed over a Weir in the space beneath the Weir. chamber to provide additional safeguard against drainage of the system by pump withdrawal. 'f

further purpose of my invention is to spacc-insulate a recorder from a fluid meter tank aud to protect against vapor or other gaseous leakage from the tank to the recorder case.

A fui-ther purpose of my invention is to provide a self-alining gland for a. float rod,

permitting the rod and float automatically to reach an accurate Vertical position as free as possible from lateral strain upon the rod and gland.

I have preferred to illustrate 'my invention by one form thereof which I have found to be simple, efficient and relatively inexpensive and Which Well illustrates the principles of my invention.

Figure l is a verticai longitudinal section elevation of the form of float shown in Fig.

l. Fig. et is a broken vertical section of a modification of one of the glands in Fig. 2. Figs. 5 vand are sectional views of valves used by me.

Like numerals of reference indicate coi-, responding parts in the drawings.

This application is division of my application for iiuid meter, tiled April l, 1912i Serial No. 687,630.

in Weir construction there has been difii- A cuity in providing suiiieient storage of the vai r ai'ter it has beenmeasured'to protect against unusual drains by the pump or teiin'iorary stoppages of Water finw from a heater, condenser or' the like,y to which the nie-,ter is connected.V Space limits have prohibited increased door area for the tanks. I have extended the Volume ofstcragespace for the water metered Without enlargingA the floor area required and While main,-

taining pressure and temperature conditions4 and securing the equalizing-pool effect of increased water storage. I do this by extending the chamber below the Weir, which I will call the storage chamber. find that the extended area ofthe meter tank in cross section gives an advantageous result in the regulation of the inlet flow 4frein the catch basin. since there is less rapid iinctuation and the control obtainedv from the catch basin is more uniform. The resultant curve of operation is smoother and more desirable ivi-thcut losing effective control of the inlet.

The pressuretight tank 1 is divided in he forni slidivn into intercoinniunicating chambers 2,3, al, respectiveiy, the Weir chamber, the float chamber and the storage chainbcr. llfithin the Weir ciiaiiiber is placed a bafiie plate 5 to prevent surging of the water at the point Where it passes over the Weir by reason of the iniet Water supply at T from the feed Water heaterE condenser 'ate'to the increase or deer g risanare or other suitable'source which may or may not beV under@ steam pressure. The float chamber 3 contains float 8 shown as guar lby which drum ,14. is rotated. The' guide l5 on the drum is'so formed as to nieve the 4axially of the drum a distance proportionese of the new i vof Water over-the Weir so'tha't the 'record upon the cylinder 18' may Vbe integrated 'by' plani meter methods; This recording mech airisi'n is the' Well -icnoiviu Lea meehanism.'

I .have e'ftended the storage" chamber 'be-V pense inerolyof lifting the tanlt and with out enlarging the door snace required.

in order to control the inlet Water as tar as may be possible, to make its flow proportit-nate to' the rate of withdrawal through pipe 20 by the pump I "provide a ioat 2l upon lever arm 22 connected to rod 23 which operates through stutling boa: so as to translate movement of the i'l'oat into rod. rotation Without losing the pressure condi- 'tions within the tank. The. rod 23 is provided at any desired point Awith a. lever arm freely through the space in a bos tained in any suitable manner by sciev's Q5 which controls a valve in the intake "T by means of rods and 26 and arm 2'?. Any

suitableftnrn buckle 28 provides for adjustnient of the relative positions of 'these parts to set the valve for any height of storage water desired. Pipeis shown as leading from an open feed Water beate t is ditlieult to construct a ratcly enough for its seni x? a plane perpendicular' to the rod and i. seal tliisinovable gland packing with oil to several advantages, of oil seal therefrom, lulnicatioii ol' the rod where it p es through the gland packing. and lobt-'reati and filling ot' the packing .iateriai within the gland box.

l'ii the forni shown, the rotfl pcs 52, and preferably internally threaded at ses 16 and, hence, the recording finger I7 cylinder oil and have yfound that cotton 'heath ,thecliamber 2 as at i9 so as to to proyide for adjustment of thecup 34 therewith. -The cup performs' two functions; bringing pressureupon the packing,

and 4'holding the sealing and, preferably,

lubricating liquid. The opening 35 in the cup, like "that at 30 in the box, is also considerably larger than the rod and the cup is preferablyoil-lilled With a lieavy'oii as at' 36. I have obtained the best 'resultswith waste in the oil, as at 37, assists in prevent- -ing evaporation of the oil'and acts asa Wick to maintain .lubricationv of the rod for a greater vlength of time" than Wouldfbe the case with oil alone. In Fig. 4: I lia-veshown oil lWithout the Waste; A

In thebest form of my invention I place rubber packing. 38' and 39 Within box- 31 and -against the bottoni of the box and under surface o-tlie'cap 34, respectively, placing i plates a0 and 4:1- neXtto these rubber sheets and :iilling the spacebetiivel-ml these two plates with any suitablenumbei' of sheets, here shown as disks'offelt or similar mais i' terial yei)'soakedin,a mixture of graphite.n

'and oil. Other arrangeinents'o'f the parts,

materials and impregnation Would,- obviously, securey a part, at least, of the benefit of my invention. Thel pressure of the cap V upon the content Within the box. 3l maybe adjusted in each different application of my invention'to correspond to the permissible friction against lateral movement or the Sheets or disks, the character of o il. seal used and'other conditions determined by the exlv i A* ,y

a'ct design used and the judgment of .the

',engineer.. The body of oil Within the cap .itself .constitutes a Huid seal and maintains the ldesiredsaturation of the disks/of felt ,or other fibrous material-and theii'proper, i;

lubrication 'against the plates and against tlie rod. Grdinarily the friction would be less between the plates and the rubber disks han between the plates'andy the felt,k with the result that, if the gland be not in properalinement with the rod, there will be movement'of 'the entire 'group between and including the plates until this adpistnicnt'lias been secured. I have obtained excellent resuits 'Witlithis construction under different prcssure'conditions within the tank. I have iwhen 'the meter is connected with a condenser or vacuum pans, and the pressure above' atmospheric pressure existentY when thel meter ivas connected with an open feedr Water heater.

in order to avoid all possibility of vapor passage from v'the meter into the recorder case, even when there is pressure within the 125 i meter, due, for example; to its conneraioii with an open feed water heater, I prefer to set the recorder case up above the gland described or any .other gland which may be tested'itwith a vacuum, such is present i messes used to seal the rod l0, providing relatively free air. space between the gland'and the bottom of the recorder case so that any vapor which'might leak through the gland Aused will be dissipated in the atmosphere.v

Inaddition to thisyspacing l prefer to provide a second land of any' suitable form in the. bottom oi the-recorder ease. l have illustrated. a well known type' of Vantivapor gland -for this purpose ecmprising'a 'base plate 43 and movable cap f'restingupcn A thebottom' 43 'of the case. Ihave shown the -creases vthefvolume increases, though not proportionately. The additional height of water causes .dow of a'correspondin'g addi-` 'jtion'al sheet of water through the Weir, in

this case at. the widestpartof the Weir in I A use, the topi'othe wedge.' `7The water'fiows ,throughthe opening in greater volume but is lighter. -g''he float would ordinarily rise,

though more deeply immersed. Thev surface.

of the vwater 'is at a higher level and the Aloats o wn volume would be increased. The

length vof its connections-would also bein- U creased. All o these factors make' the read- 4ing in'erl'cess of the actual flow. My. invention corrects for this error.

` in order to maire the'loat con'ipensat'e'aiu-rv 4tornatically for temperature changes in je water metered I have constructedthe up er part of the iioat of conoidal form and are adjusted the depth of flotation of the Vfloat by means otrem'ovable weights 9 solas 4to operate normally upon the desired part of the surface 46 of the upper part of the float.

This ,correctionVV was previously made byA means of tables. The compensation for reduction in temperature by reduction in subf mergence is, of course, likewise automatic.

The mathematical determinati-on of the conformation ofthe float is complicated by avnumber of factors, including the consideration ofthe shape of the portion of the float continuously submerged, tie height of the float and rod adected by the temperature changes, andi the fact that the increase-of volume of Water with increase of temperature, according to the bestdeterminations', does not follow a uniform law, but varies considerably in different temperature ranges. Since the shape can be determined experi mentally within quite as close an approxi-l mation as the mechanic would be able to make it in metal or pattern if a'iven the mathematical equation. mathematical consideration of'. this question has been omitted here and, instead, l shall point out a. practical method by which l'have obtained excollent results. I form the upper part ot the float' of approximately the shape indicated inthe drawingslisually having curved 66 v lonigitudinal.v section 47 and varying between tangency to the horizontal and vertical at 48 and if-'9 respectively. I tentatively immerse` the loatto a desiredlevel indicated by dotted lines at 50 by means of suitable weights,y

at the lower of the vtwo* temperatures representia-e; the substantial range of temperature dto which the float is to be subjected. I then increase the temperature to the higher of the two temperatures, immersing to line 51. If

'there be any upward movement of the rod .10 as a result of the change, this indicates that l have selected my ,range upon a part of the curve- 47 too high up on the curve, z', e.,

If there be downward movement of the'rod 10, this in dicates that too much of the more nearly horizontal Vpart of the curve, that near the end 48, has been used for the'range ottembeen correct and that the proportions of the 'ii/oat are accurate for thetwo limits of the range of temperature. -The float can now be ytested at intermediate temperatures.

Ifthere beupward movement ofthe rod 10 at an intermediate temperature, the contour between the limits is not concave enough 'and should be increased in curvature; while downward movement of the rod 10 `under the' same conditions indicates that the contour tentatively selected is concaved' too much between the limits. In this way any desired number of determinations can be made and the form of 'curve can'be vdetermined with as. much accuracy as ,the detection of movement of the rod 10 willpermit. change of temperature cannot bc detected correction for temperature variation may ordinarily be neglected. If no portion of the curve can be found which will give the proportions required at the limits of temperature there is a disproportion between the size of the continuously immersed'part of the float as compared with the reduction available at the neck and the body of the float can be reduced or the reduction can be increased as may seem best in the case in point. In order to permit setting of the zeropoint ot' cvlinder 14 and the adjustment of the depth of flotation for any desired conditions of service without changing this zero point, l provide any suitable couplingr 52 between the rod 10 and the rack 1l. I have connected the tank 3 with the tank 2 bv means of a pipe 53 terminating in a screened Where movement of the rod 10 with' eov required `for this use.

end 54C and containing a valve 55 which is controlled from the outside by Wheel 56 through rod 57 sealed by gland 58. The upper part of the-chamber 3 is opened freely tqthe surfacepressure or vacuum conditions otfcltalnbers 2 and 4 since the spaces at the top between these chambers are not closed. Toassist in initial setting of the zero point of cylinder 14 I place a pin 59 on a level With the bottom ofthe Weir at 60, making the point adjustable for the purpose of exact setting by forming it asa screw Within bracket 6l, locked therein by nut 6l.

' convenience in adjusting the instrument to zero While the meter is under pressure or a vacuum, peep holes 62 in lineivith the top of the pin are provided. @ne hole only shows in the illustration.- So that various 'parts of the tank may be freely accessible 1 provide hand hole 63 and man hole 64.

determine the height of Water inthe cham ber below the Weir by gage glas.Q

Where pressure is desired above that of -the atmosphere,'as Will occur Where open 'feed Water heaters afford the supply and the pressure'. transmitted` therefrom is to be maintained in a meter to gain the benefit of the increased temperature and head of the `\vater, I provide for protection against excesslve pressures byany suitable safety valve.

4' 66, which I have shown as controlled by Weight 67 adjustable upon the rod 68. I

. avoid conditions of vacuum 'by a simple check or Hap valve'Gi) shown in Fig. 5,- in which pressure less-'than atmospheric pressurewill permit the opening of the valve `due to the greater exterior (atmospheric) pressure. 'I also avoid the'excessive accumulation of air 'within the meter chambers by thermostatic valve 70 open at lower temperatures but closed. by reason of the increased temperature vwhen the temperature exceeds 212, the temperature at which pressures above the atmospheric pressure begin. lVhere vacuum conditions are to be met by the meter I provide against excessive pressures within the chambers by the same charactor of check or flap valve-as shown at 69 I ,except that I turn .it the opposite Way. The

safety valve andthermostatic valve are not It will be evident that my lioat may bc Y made ii'idependent of the temperature of the 'y fluid within whichit is floated, automatically compensating therefor to maintain the same 4actual height within the fluid regard-y less of the temperature and that the compensation maybe adjusted to variant conditions of temperature range and iluid measured. The form of the curve may be suitedtothe conditions of use witligreat nicety. My increased storage for the water below `the Weir equalizes the pi-essures vfor@L the pumps, providi'iiglapool'or storage chamber for that purpose.- NMy' coinpensating float, capable of use in other arts and other meters, as, .for example, in Venturi meters and. Pitot tubes, as well as in Weir meters,"is highly yuseful here. It avoids necessity for correction of.. i

the readings, as heretofore, by a table, and the conformation of the float can be experimentally determined 'With the same degree f i is protected against air pressure as Wellas,

^ of accuracy asthe experimental determination of the correction required'. My Weir meter vacuum, insuring a'minimum of air Vpresent after the, boiling temperature v has been reached and avoiding feeding 'o'f air to the pump, except such slight amount as may be; entrained by the feed Water in its entry ,after boiling temperature hasbeen exceeded, thusM duplicating to the pump.' in this' I fegard the 'j Water supplied to the f conditions of -iced meter. Having thus'descrbdd my invention, 'what I- Claim 21S-BBW and deire to secure by Let;

ters Patent is A 1. A recording meter 4oat having that part of its upper surface which isvariantly'v submerged shaped to compensateor changes in fluid density due to temperature changes.'

2j. A recording meter oat having tl part which is variantly 'submerged at di; erent temperatures of progressively reduced cross section toward thetop 'to compensate forfchanges of density of fluid gaged at 'diiierentl temperatures by thevariation.. in the dis- 'j' f' vplacement of fluid by the float.

3. A recording meter 'floathaving that part of its upper surface'vvhich is variantly submerged at different tempera-tures con? caved to compensate'for changes'of density of fluid-.gaged at different temperatures by 4. 'A `recording meter float having the up the displace-h ment of the fluid.

5. A recording meter float having that part of its upper surface which is variantlyf submerged, of 'concaved' conoidal shape and means for normally immersing' the float toa point upon vsaid conoidal surface.

6. A recording meter floatl hav-ing that part of its upper surface which is varantly the float.

submerged, of conca'ved conoida-l shape andV j means for varying the depth of otation of .i5-

7. 'ln a device of the character'. stated, .ai 'l fluid meter, a float `rod therein, an antivapor i" gland for the ioat rod Vand a 'recorder case spaced'from thegland and'into which said rod passes, the rod being exposed to the atj mosphere between theantivapor. gland and "the case. of the character stated,- a

8.' In a device Huid meter tank, a recorder case spaced therefrom, a ioat rod Within the tank and an antiva or and for. sai rod Uemn QX- atnos het-6 between and assin into the posm'e of che rod toth-e-amosphere between recorder case.

the gand and iba cass.

D l 9. ln a @avise of the Character s'taed, a v DAVI ROBERT YARNALL mete? tank, a, recorderA case therea'ove Wltnesses: spaced {}@miriam and s, sat wd Wltnm h@ VIM. S'I'EEIL JACKSON,

metezgpzlssing ont vbhereflom open in the HELEN l, KAUFFMAN. 

